Emergency regulations designed to crack down on intoxicating hemp products throughout the state are drawing serious backlash from hemp advocates who are considering filing suit to stop the new product ban.
Paige Figi, director of the Coalition for Access Now, told CBS News recently that the regulations may cut off access in California to high-potency CBD products made from hemp, not only hemp goods that are high in THC.
Figi rose to cannabis prominence a decade ago when her epileptic daughter Charlotte became the face of “Charlotte’s Web,” a strain of marijuana high in CBD, which led to the discovery that the cannabinoid can be a life-changing treatment for those with intractable epilepsy. Charlotte passed away in 2020, likely after contracting COVID-19, but Figi has continued her cannabis activism.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the new product ban earlier this month, after the state legislature failed to pass a bill to regulate the intoxicating hemp sector.
“I think this is outside the authority of the governor,” Figi told CBS, indicating a lawsuit is highly likely.
Figi also told SFGate that many Californians are currently “panic buying” high-CBD hemp goods in the fear that they’ll soon be unavailable on the legal commercial market, with the emergency regulations set to kick in as soon as this week.
“I know people who have cleared their bank accounts,” Figi told SFGate. “These are veterans and first responders and moms of very sick kids. They don’t have the money to spend on these things.”
Newsom’s office defended the move to SFGate, noting that consumers will still be able to access hemp products that have no THC in them but are rich in CBD, or if they want a mixture of the two cannabinoids they’ll be able to find products with both THC and CBD at licensed marijuana dispensaries.
Figi disagreed and said that high-CBD hemp products are typically not carried by licensed marijuana shops.
“They currently do not exist in these dispensaries,” Figi said. “That’s wishful thinking if that’s how they think they are not harming consumers in California. They’re wrong.”
In a letter directly to Newsom, Figi wrote that her coalition supports his intended goal of removing intoxicating hemp products from the reach of children, but that the new emergency rules are the wrong solution.
“Like you, we support efforts to ensure children do not have access to harmful and intoxicating products,” Figi wrote. “But your action as crafted does not differentiate between such products and safe and life-saving CBD on which our families rely. Other states have successfully accomplished your stated goal with narrowly tailored restrictions without harming the sick kids or disabled veterans who use CBD, such as Virginia. There is no reason that California cannot do the same.”
The hemp industry has responded to similar state bans with other lawsuits filed across the country, with mixed results to date.
Advocates say the new emergency rules will eliminate access to high-CBD products. Read More